It’ll be a holly jolly Christmas for Morgan Pressel this year; LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens has granted Pressel’s exemption from the tour's minimum age requirement of 18.

When Pressel originally petitioned the LPGA earlier this year, then-commissioner Ty Votaw told her she’d have to wait until she turns 18 in May.

But Bivens is no dummy. Apparently swayed by arguments cogently expressed by Golf with Shanks, and awed by Pressel's performance at Q-school, Bivens released a statement earlier today: “The decision we made earlier this year was the right decision at the time, but after additional evaluation of her performance on the LPGA Tour over the last several months and conversations with Morgan and her family, I am now confident she’s ready to compete successfully on the LPGA Tour.”

Look for Pressel's LPGA debut at the SBS Open in Hawaii beginning Feb. 16.

So the next question is, of course, now that Morgan has opened the door, will Michelle Wie try for the same exemption? According to LPGA by-laws, "women between the ages of 15 and 18 may be granted special permission to apply for membership by satisfactorily demonstrating to the Commissioner their capacity to assume professional and financial responsibilities required of the association's Tournament membership." If Morgan has demonstrated that capacity to Ms. Bivens' satisfaction, surely Michelle has too.

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